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Category: Consciousness

Many years ago, there were two sources that I used to move myself out of my mind and bring me back to the present moment.

Firstly mindful meditation and for me the most important outcome of this was … to see the world through the present moment, for there is no other moment …. don’t fight me on this just please look at it this way. We look through the present moment at the memory (the past) and we see it from our personal perspective. It is the same for the future, we project on the future what we desire through the present moment … in doing so the future becomes an expectation, an attachment, and as such it will very likely bring suffering when it does not eventuate.

So, I live life in baby steps, by simply living in the present, accepting what comes (for unless we do we cannot respond to it) and flowing with it.

Before meditation and mindfulness – I was acting in a group discussion to help some people come to terms with their changed circumstances … so my sincere thanks goes out to Don Miguel RUIZ, the author of the Four Agreements as below.

I was given these Agreements below to pass around .. they made a positive difference to the discussion flow, fostered some personal realisations and even a epiphany for one I was told later, so I think that they are worth sharing here ..

Agreement 1

Be impeccable with your word – speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.Agreement 2 – #This

Don’t take anything personally – Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.

Agreement 3

Don’t make assumptions – Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.Agreement 4

Always do your best – Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self judgement, self abuse and regret.

Consider bringing these thoughts into your life … make them part of you, and they will make a difference in your relationships, both with yourself and how you relate to your external relationships

Truthfully I do not know where I am in the process, but there have been many slow changes in me physically and spiritually, effectively in how I see and respond to the world in the more than the 9 months since it began.

The mind is powerful, but from a spiritual evolution point of view, it is only so long as the ego is subjugated …. Mindfulness brings the reality of perspective … I live on the basis of Accept what comes while staying present and flow .. though sometimes (rarely) I have to remind myself to be mindful.

Being on my own for so long – this has not been a choice, but to date a reality – though I have learnt so much in solitude – I don’t project my beliefs onto others concerning a spiritual path because frankly it is not my place, their own evolution must come from within themselves, their own growth, their own realisations … this includes change, if they are truly seeking, all growth will come from within.

When I first arrived here from India, aside from being very ill, I was in my own little bubble and had to consciously stretch myself to move out of this bubble to engage with people …. We must engage outside of our personal bubbles …. I want and continue to be kind to people as I can be …. why not …. such behaviour brings smiles … I like smiles – kindness brings its own rewards.

The thing about not working from 9-5 in a job for most days is one has to make up our own mind what work we will do, where will we focus our energy, how shall we keep ourselves busy …. I chose to travel and to learn. I shall finish this book and will publish another perhaps about life and travelling … it is said that the first book is almost always auto-biographical as was the case for me. Part of me wants to finish the book, and I will, but at this point I am not sure about publishing it …. I have had this thought that stays with me “A spiritual teacher’s role is not to teach dogma or project their beliefs, but to awaken us to our divinity, to show us how to look, not what to see’ – I do not believe in just teaching dogma (mine or anyone else’s) … as it is merely a reprise of my or someone else’s experiences or thoughts … teaching others this way means that they might learn – however others must realise for themselves – (But how can they truly understand the depth of someone else’s dogma) as they have not had the realisations that for instance I have had to get to this point – in my view, for them just to rely on dogma, is a weakness, dependant, not strong for they are dependent on another …. I believe we must show others “how” to look, but in a way by reminding them of their divinity, they will discover their own base, their own path to divinity.

Of course when one is striving to grow, books are a valuable resource that can really help, they can trigger us, especially when reflecting afterwards in nature.

I have been able to stay mindful … and this has a wonderful effect of negating the effects of the ego …. The idea of judgement of others for instance, I came to the realisation that when we judge others we are in fact revealing an aspect of ourselves that needs healing …. In duality it is almost inescapable to observe, but in my opinion to judge, to reach a outcome can be avoided, we do not need to go to this step … I have written about this previously here …. Also those thoughts that concern the future (fears) … it brings peace and detachment from my own future, although it doesn’t detach me from engaging with my environment.

The Kundalini Awakening process is firmly doing its work … each event, normally each morning leaves a feeling, as it slowly moves up my body, now at the neck, so if I am right … we have next the throat chakra, the third eye and the crown, or ? But of course, I believe the Kundalini is an intelligence, and a being, an agent of the absolute that is divinity, it knows how to proceed. I have thought that the Kundalini Awakening is the same or similar to Self-realisation …. The other day I brought the light forward, the light that I can always bring from within me … this now pervades all of me … I do not have to reach for the divine …. It is everywhere, all of me …. To bring the Universe, Jesus, Buddha, Krishna and others all I do is bring them to my consciousness and they are there … their aura, their divinity, they are is within me (and you) and feeling this divinity is without effort.

Perhaps you have a partner – that you and your partner are spiritually on a different path is not a negative or reason for unhappiness, there can be real respect and love for each other, it is rare, please truly value it, this may not affect your relationships in the physical world, for the actual evolution of the consciousness comes basically in solitude and allowing the realisations that come when they will, let them come, they will come in tiny little steps, each one incrementally building on the one previously …. You may not even be aware until one day you start thinking of things in a different way as for the evolution of the consciousness is a path, a journey of changing our perspective … part of the lessons in my case it was to understand the true nature of love, for most it is not love they feel, for real love is unconditional, a way to understand this is a “mothers love” … children are loved for who they are, and no matter what they do, they are still loved without limits – because most mothers cannot see their children without seeing themselves, their experience, their own process, for them, there is generally no possible separation between them.

The fundamental flaw in humanity is the infection called ego, the belief hammered into children that we are all separate, this empowers the ego and along comes the instruments of separation, such as comparison, competition, conflict and eventually war. Today war is a business carried out by the Department of War in many countries, including the United States, but from a world perspective it is facilitated by the UN permanent members of the security council, United Kingdom, Russia, United States of America, France and China … these countries along with Germany are focused on the supply and sale of weapons – we know that weapons kill …. This fact is something that they take no responsibility for …. That to me is what is so difficult to understand these so called world leadership. One set of numbers tells us that over 100 million people have been killed in various ethnic cleansing, genocides and democides since World War 2 – Yemen, Syria and Palestinians are just current examples.

There are some societies that do not develop the ego as we do in the west, for their focus is not on the self alone, or self aggrandisement and money, but on community and each other …. Goodness, what a wonder, truly may they inherit the world.

Many years ago, I went out to exercise, and meditated in the park as I often did, a new experience visited …. it was as if a pebble had been dropped in a pond, the ripples went outwards and outwards from my consciousness touching all life …. bringing it within me. Each life was different in the hues of colour, for life is abundant.

From that moment on, we are connected to every life form, from the tiniest to the largest mammals and the multitude of life in the cosmos.

We can at almost any time bring that experience to focus, for that light is within.

I believe a child is born enlightened, as when they are young, there are no barriers between ourselves and the outside world, they are part of everything they see and experience! I once saw a toddler experience rain for the first time …. there was so much joy to see in her.

I would suggest that the ego is not formed at this age, so children have no idea that they are separate from anyone or anything. I don’t know whether the ego is born with us, or due to our upbringing we are infected by it. For the source of all atrocities in humanity is an ideology, a dogma or a belief that is pursued by the ego and facilitated by the mind.

We are all born abundant, only our thoughts change this ….

When children reach about 6-8 years old they can be reasoned with, this for me is when meditation might be offered, for when meditation is learnt, at some point it may evolve to mindfulness and in that state the worries and self criticism that we normally experience are given their real perspective of their impact on our lives, for when mindful we stay present and flow. We then see that most of our fears and non-present thoughts are illusions.

If it their destiny, then again over time, mindless-mindfulness will come. But what do I mean and understand by this? It is a state of consciousness, where one does not cling to anything, but is clear in all cases, without hindrance or obstruction, without being stained, yet without dwelling in statelessness.

The Evolution of the Consciousness … this is the best way (for me) to illustrate what happens as a we evolve.

Imagine you are in a Movie theatre …. When we are young (it is not everyones destiny to evolve in this life). We sit in the front row, surrounded by and (for me) assaulted by the very loudness of the speakers. The light from the screen draws us inwards, it becomes a part of us, we lose ourselves in it. We focuses absolutely on experiencing the entertainment (or distraction) …. Perhaps another example of this particular experience would be, when we focus only on achievement, or in the case of Entertainment, smartphones, some extreme sports, Play-stations and other game boxes, do by their very nature force us to stay present – in doing so they bring us a dopamine burst – our self-gratification..

During the movie, we do not think about ourselves at all, unless we do not enjoy the movie, then our other thoughts may be of a not-present nature.

As we evolve, we move little by little towards the rear of the Theatre, and as the distance lengthens between where we are and the screen (life), it becomes progressively distant, we observe an ever widening perspective of the image, of life and our place within it, we see it not as a single event, but the big-picture, including the events that led to it …. We realise that in many ways we can be our own enemy for when we focus on a fear or an expectation and over think it, it often leads to suffering …. Remember what we focus, we give energy to and so this thought (good or bad) grows in our lives.

Meditation that we do in the morning, is practice, at some point in this practice, we are able to carry that state with us throughout the day and in our life.

If we are able (which is happening in some schools) to teach mindful meditation to children as young as 8, will over time, over the generations, I feel will change the nature of humanity, and will lead to a self respect and therefore respecting others, for me it is on the path to peace, love and understanding.

When in mindfulness we stay present in the moment, not reliving the past or investing in our expectations of the future – this does not mean we don’t responsibly plan for the future, it just means we stay present and don’t invest in and therefore do not live in the future by building and living in castles we build in the air, instead of creating our futures in the present moment.

Eventually, if it is on the path of the individual, we evolve further and come via little steps to a Mindless-Mindful state where unless we have a task to do that needs our mind, the mind of the person is at rest, and empty of thoughts. This place is a also an incredible place of calm. Hence when an event happens that requires our mind we can give it our absolute focus and attention.

We can only create our life, make decisions and plan in the present moment because that is the only moment we have … it’s the only place we can act when you think about it, as well we look at the past through the present moment and we look to the future through the present as well.

Anyone can reach enlightenment in life, (some may spontaneously change due to a sound or other stimulus) or by study or when they face and overcome the major challenges that come in their lives. There are multiple, perhaps uncountable paths to spiritual growth, but what is common to all paths, is the state we are in when we arrive.

In my case, I was asked by my soul, did I want to go through the portal (the image I had of the next step), I said “if I don’t what will happen”, my soul responded “You will go no further, we will stop here” …. For me I said lets go forward, I have not regretted that decision.

Words are generally poor conveyors of meaning, especially of such experiences and of absolutes …. As you are aware, words convey only part of the message, the rough plot (a bare bones storyboard) so to speak. I hope that this gives you some background of the journey that awaits us all (my belief) in this life or another …. all of us, will evolve to the light.

My articles are simply my perspective and they are offered in the spirit of discovery and empowerment – take what resonates with you and leave the rest.

I am writing this is Cyprus, detached by time and distance from the original experience in Australia.

It has taken me many years to achieve this, a very limited perspective about what happened in this experience, in time this perspective may also change.

The originator was a frustrating experience which I had allowed to happen where I had given others my love and trust as I believed I was loved, this was betrayed, instead their misguided ideology that valued no one but themselves, their beliefs, assumptions, projection and fears was the end of us … this experience which I had was created through my own beliefs demanded in me real solitude .. I had reached a point where all the old ways no longer made sense, I kept hitting a wall – people’s promises and words did not match their actions … I needed to find what was real as mindfulness and meditation although helping weren’t bringing clarity.

In a sea of pain with my internal compass wildly spinning – I had no idea what to do … I was unable to understand the thinking, the beliefs and values of those who had professed their love, then had created this challenge, all emanating from a group that said they lived by Buddhist teachings – a truism being that the basis of all relationships is trust.

I decided to isolate myself purposefully from all distractions, to try and understand why this challenge had come to me … what was it in me that I had to understand, to face and overcome, I wondered what was I to learn from the experience?

The nurturing environment of nature beckoned, it had always been a wonderful energising and calming experience for me, I would go. …. I took some food, tent etc and went looking for a camp site in the state forest – my past experience in nature automatically kicked in, I set up camp, explored the area, boiled water for a drink, all the time feeling the balance and harmony, the nurturing energy of nature flowed into me, then I began to meditate.

Over the next 18 days, I travelled through transitions – the first four days, were a most unsettling, and a very confronting experience … illusions came and went … even in a conscious state I found difficulty in understanding the actions of others … my ego screamed out in defiance of my mindfulness but I did not engage and after a while its voice diminished until eventually the no mind state came … for days I was in a place of wonder … peak experiences came …. some have been repeated since, it was an incredible humbling learning experience as again I could see all life, and the inherent balance and interconnectivity of life, the abundance of nature all around me, from the plants, the insects, the birds the animals and myself – we were one.

During my time in the forest I heard an another voice, a voice I had heard before, which I now know is my soul, it asked me did I want to go on? I asked what would happen if I didn’t, the voice said “we will then stop here, but if you go through you can never go back, you are on a new path” … I said let’s go, and here I am.

I have never regretted this decision.

In the forest, after a while I become one with the environment, the forest and all the life it contained … I couldn’t separate myself I couldn’t judge the actions of others for this reason – this extended to my recent challenge … I couldn’t judge, all I could do was to try and empathise in an effort to understand their actions and what beliefs had brought the situation to me – there was nothing in me that enabled me to understand the motivations of the others in this experience, all I could was to accept the situation, forgive those that had betrayed me, let go and move on.

For me, in solitude …. and nature … I able to see myself for who I am, and then in time understood what I truly wanted.

In my time in the forest, I truly understood the Alan Watts quote: “If you go off into a far, far forest and get very quiet, you’ll come to understand that you’re connected with everything”

Any action, good or bad that comes with intent, brings Karma … I knew that Karma would handle the situation with those in my past far better than I could, so I let go of the past, forgave it and moved on.

As always this was my experience, it may have some similarities with your own or not. There is no right way for everyone’s journey is their own.

Along with a new perspective on the present moment, Peace, Love, detachment, understanding and presence came and has stayed.

My posts are simply my perspective offered in the spirit of discovery, exploration and empowerment – take what resonates with you and leave the rest.